Editorial: Christie should keep focus on New Jersey

There are now two Chris Christies: one, an all-but-certain presidential candidate; the other, the governor of New Jersey.

Keeping those two straight may be a problem for him. For the citizens of New Jersey, it will be a challenge trying to interpret whether his actions are being taken for the benefit of the people whom he was re-elected to serve, or to further his national agenda.

Gov. Christie said Monday that the latest CNN/ORC International poll, which found him as the current frontrunner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, was "meaningless."

In a sense, he's right. A lot can change in three years. The latest poll had Christie leading the Republican pack at 24 percent, followed by Paul Rand with 13 percent. But if the GOP primaries of 2012 taught any lesson at all, it is that the electorate is a fickle bunch.

Every few weeks, it seemed, there was a different GOP contender stealing the spotlight. The candidacies of Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry all burned brightly before burning out, with Mitt Romney the last man standing.

But when Christie says he doesn't think much about his status as front-runner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, New Jerseyans need to take that with a grain of salt.

Clearly, Christie has one eye on the White House. And as long as he does, it will become increasingly difficult to discern whether his actions here at home are guided by what is best for the people of New Jersey or what is best for his national political aspirations.

Consider his role in attempting to oust Republican Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. from his leadership role in the state Senate after the November election, the one Christie won handily, but had absolutely no coattails.

Kean, whose job it was to increase GOP representation in the Senate, survived the bid to oust him, despite Christie's willingness to throw him under the bus. As Kean's father, former Gov. Tom Kean, said of the coup attempt: "You don't start going after people who have been loyal to you." Christie did. He wanted to show the nation that he could turn a blue state red. He failed and he decided to blame Kean Jr.

Christie also would like the country to believe that he is the great champion of bipartisanship. Yet, last week he told a radio audience that the state Democrats have no choice but to toe his line: "Their mandate, to the extent they have any, is to work with me," Christie said. "That's it. They ran on nothing else."

Other politicians might have expressed a little gratitude for the spirit of bipartisanship in Trenton. Not Christie, at least not this time.

Days ago, the governor announced, "the fact is, I'm focused on being the governor of New Jersey and being the chairman of the Republican Governors Association." Again, will his focus be on New Jersey or on the party, and how he can advance its interests nationally?

It's no secret Christie is playing to a national audience these days, and that it may affect the policies and decisions he makes as governor. He may have the luxury of playing to two different constituencies. But New Jerseyans can't afford a governor who isn't laser-focused full time on the job he was elected to do.

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Editorial: Christie should keep focus on New Jersey

There are now two Chris Christies: one, an all-but-certain presidential candidate; the other, the governor of New Jersey.

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